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Kezef
Kezef the Chaos Hound was a powerful primordial and one of the Seven Lost Gods, feared by gods and mortals alike. Description Kezef appeared as a huge mastiff with unearthly malevolent red eyes and a ratty tail. Maggots teemed in his fur, which made the coat shift incessantly over barely covered sinews and bones. His flesh oozed like pus from an old sore, and his paws left burning prints in the ground that spread into pools of burning ichor in his wake. Pointed teeth glittered like daggers of jet in the light. His blood was a dark, corrosive, liquid ooze, and he radiated a pestilent aura of decay. The fetid air of his breath extinguished all nearby fires, and he reeked with the sweet stench of ancient death. Those with a sense of smell could catch this scent from many miles away. The Chaos Hound spoke in a low and rumbling growl. Activities He was a unique being who roamed the Outer Planes constantly hunting the Faithful, which were the souls of those who had chosen to venerate one god above all others. He had no taste for the Faithless or the False, and was sickened by the taste of the spirits of the still-living. When Kezef destroyed one of the Faithful, the maggots that made up his pelt swarmed away from his jet-boned skeleton to devour the corpse. The gorged creatures then milled slowly over Kezef's body, making him appear bloated. Any of the Faithful who were eaten in this fashion were forever and truly destroyed, beyond even the recall of the gods. Kezef relished the scent of hatred, and he sometimes paused and became substantial so that he could savor a particularly juicy emotional scent. In his wake, he left screaming nightmares particularly cherished by Dendar the Night Serpent. He was nauseated by the scent of cloying, reckless happiness. History Kezef was one of the primordial beings who appeared at the dawn of time, after the creation of Realmspace, although a few sages believed he was instead a creation of the god Jergal, who during a fit of madness created Kezef to deny the other gods the souls of their followers. Some believe that it was this event what eventually drove Jergal to step down from godhood as a penance. Centuries ago, an alliance of Faerûnian gods chased Kezef across the Barrens of Doom and Despair to stop him from festering the souls of the Faithful, and when he was finally surrounded, the gods bet Kezef he could not break a leash forged by Gond the Wonderbringer. Kezef allowed Gond to place a short length of sturdy chain around his neck in exchange for Tyr placing his right hand in the Chaos Hound's slavering jaws. Gond anchored the chain miles deep in the floor of the Barrens' caves, and Mystra wrapped the beast in an unbreakable, glowing curtain of magical energy that automatically repaired itself. From these two traps, Kezef could not escape, and no one could reach him. When Kezef discovered he was truly fettered, he bit off Tyr's hand and feasted on its divine essence for centuries as he strove to free himself. After imprisoning him, the gods forbade traffic by deity or mortal with the beast. Kezef was eventually freed by Cyric's machinations, to once again hunt the souls of mortals and gods alike. Having been double-crossed by Mask, the Chaos Hound spent every moment hunting down the elusive Lord of Shadows, chasing Mask across the planes. Only when Mask acquired a powerful blade called Houndsbane from Mystra did Kezef relent and stop hunting the cornered deity. After the Second Sundering, mortal warlocks began to seek out Kezef to make pacts with him in exchange of arcane powers. Appendix Notes Appearances * Prince of Lies * Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad Background Kezef was inspired by the legend of Fenrir from Norse mythology. Further Reading * * * References Connections Category:Males Category:Seven Lost Gods Category:Great Old One patrons Category:Inhabitants of Banehold Category:Inhabitants of the Outer Planes Category:Inhabitants of the World Tree planes Category:Inhabitants Category:Elder evils